Don’t be such a jerk – a rant

We were notified earlier in the week that there was a strike for garbage collectors and they wouldn’t be servicing our area on the normal day. There was a possibility that we would have to wait out the week for the pick up the following week. As such it was suggested that we minimise our waste as much as possible – you would think they would be trying to get everyone to do that all the time.

“By minimising the amount of waste created, people may be able to help their friends, family or neighbours by offering them any room they have in their bin to dispose of excess waste.”

image source: tams.act.gov.au

I know that some neighbours occasionally put a bag or two in our bin when we’ve put it out to the kerb for collection. We usually have space so I have no issue with that. I was pretty surprised however, to find that this week, when we may not have been getting our bins emptied at all, that a neighbour had filled our bin in it’s entirety before we had even had a chance to put anything in it. I can’t prove 100% who it was but given that our recycling bin was also half filled (on an off-week – our recycling is collected fortnightly) with a bunch of beer and other alcohol cans and bottles I have a pretty good idea. If you sit out in your garage every afternoon drinking and then put your empties into someone’s bin you become a fairly easy suspect.

I just don’t understand why someone would do that and think it is ok! I was pretty angry at the time while I tried to shove my rubbish bag into the bin and hoped that it would get collected this week. I would think twice before using someone else’s bin if it had been put out onto the kerb, let alone if it hadn’t and just wonder how much of a jerk you need to be to not give a shit about anyone else.

Fortunately, the bins were emptied a day later but, because of the material of the rubbish the neighbours had put in our bin (a bunch of plastic) and how much they (and probably partly me) had stuffed it into the bin it didn’t actually come out when the bin was emptied. So now we have to deal with their crap 2 weeks in a row, and hope it actually gets emptied properly next week. I will admit, I have considered dumping it into who I believe the culprits are bin and make them deal with their own rubbish.

My more rational self decided to move the bins into our backyard (previously they were sitting near the driveway) which is less convenient for us but it means they have to put in more effort if they use them. I highly doubt (but you never know) they would actually come into my back yard to dump some rubbish.

Have you ever had a situation where someone did something you considered incredibly inconsiderate, and what did you do about it?

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4 thoughts on “Don’t be such a jerk – a rant”

The first time I visited a big city was during a garbage strike and it left a negative impact on me. I’m fortunate that we haven’t had a garbage strike here, I can’t imagine what kind of chaos that would be. Having neighbours filling your bins is concerning to me. I know it seems kind of minor, but I would consider maybe finding out who it is and taking legal action if it gets out of hand.

I’m usually a nice person and if someone tries to walk over me or does something inconsiderate, I tend to not help them out as much. There’s only so much that I’ll put up with before I take some sort of action. It also helps to rant and talk it out. Depending on what it is, I might try to confront them and ask why they did it. Doesn’t hurt to see the other side of the story — sometimes.

Ugh, people can be such morons. I get putting a little in but filling it? Seriously. Honestly I wouldn’t have to nerve to use someone else’s at all anyway. Well, hopefully they stop now though you shouldn’t have to move it just came someone is rude.

Uuuuuughhhhh neighbours! Pieces of shit! I completely understand where you’re coming from. We had our neighbours (renting next door) throw dirty socks and empty cigarette boxes on our lawn from over the fence. It was obvious because they were having a party and that was not our rubbish. There were also chicken bones which people had obviously eaten from, and they were covered in ants. If this keeps up we will definitely report them.

If there is one thing I hate about rubbish it is when people don’t bother bagging their rubbish and leave their bins full of rubbish that just ends up falling out and floating around, like little chocolate wrappers and things, and when the truck empties it, it just floats everywhere. Pisses me off! We’ve also had the issue where the rubbish gets stuck and doesn’t empty completely, that’s usually our fault though. We tend to do well with our bins, we even got a sticker on our bin for being a good recycler haha. We like to keep our bins clean. I wouldn’t mind if someone used our bin if they really, really needed to, but your neighbours are totally irresponsible and rude.